can be held in a magazine. >> i agree. >> and you saw in the aurora and the sandy hook chuting it is the ability to empty 30 to 100 rounds. if the person has to reload, then that good guy can stop them. >> and we see joe mansion from the nra, saying li ining things is chon sense. back ground checks, that seems to be the spot where there is the most likely opportunity. >> lawmakers say look, if the senate can get through a bill that is something that can work. the nra is in a marketplace.

part of the reason they satisfy such an extreme position. there are other groups competing for the same money. >> then gun owners of america will fill in the marketplace and not the nra. >> joy evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. now is the time for america to get laser focused on how the republicans are trying to steal the next election. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i think the surprise was some of the turnout. some of the turnout, especially in urban areas. >> forget policy. if you can't win it, just go ahead and rig it. the gop moves to steal elections. first stop? virginia. david corn and charnelle herring tell us if the dirty move could

work. the right still can't handle hillary. >> she obviously has an enduring media. >> so the king of the sunday shows bites the hand that feeds him. >> the president's vision for his second term to annihilate the republican party. >> richard wolffee on the republican party's new nerve. democrats just missed a huge opportunity to change the o'country. larry cohen on harry reiding filibuster cave. women get overdue recognition to serve in combat. the right wing is freaking out. former marine goldie taylor is here to put them in their place. thanks for watching. it's time to wake up, america. got to pay attention to this one. the republican attempt to steal the next presidential election, it has hit full throttle. this is the latest poster boy for republican vote rigging. virginia state senator bill carrico.

now, today carrico advanced his bill in the republican-led senate to change the way electoral votes are counted in the state. virginia democratic state senator john s. edwards told me on my radio show that democrats were completely blindsided by this move. >> it was a complete underhanded sneak attack on not only democrats but also the people of virginia because if people had had no prior warning this would happen there, have been no committee discussions on this, no hearings on this, and it runs contrary to the courtesies and traditions of the senate of virginia. >> they should not expect courtesy from the current republican party. they are willing to admit these changes are being made in order to make certain votes count for less. carrico told a virginia nbc affiliate the change is necessary because virginia's populace, urbanized areas can outvote rural regions such as his, rendering their will irrelevant? urbanized areas? this sounds like something we've

heard before. >> i think the surprise was some of the turnout. some of the turnout, especially in urban areas, which definitely gave president obama the big margin to win this race. >> both paul ryan and mitt romney were outspoken about blaming their loss in november on a democratic coalition of women, minorities, and young people in this country. days after the election paul ryan saw a problem with the system. >> there's always an electoral college strategy in winning these things. and you know what states you need to win to get to 270 electoral votes. and when we watch the -- look at the map here, virginia and ohio coming in, and those ones coming in as tight as they were and then looking like we were going to lose them, that was when it game pretty clear to us we weren't going to win. >> paying attention now? now republicans have a new electoral strategy. win as many electoral votes as you can, even if you lose by a very large margin. rnc chair reince priebus announced his intention to pursue the virginia model nationally.

and it would have quite an effect. this is the result of the 2012 presidential election. barack obama won 332 electoral votes, beating mitt romney's 206 votes. in the popular vote president obama won 51% to 47%. if every electoral vote is tied to congressional delegations, romney would have defeated president obama by 14 electoral votes, even though president obama still wins the popular vote by 4 percentage points. president obama won these six swing states in the past two elections. he would have lost all of them under the republican scheme to reapportion the votes. republicans are doing this because messing with the democratic process has worked for them in the past. for instance, florida secretary of state kathleen harris was successful in purging eligible voters from the polls in the 2000 election. we all know what happened there. then let's go to ohio, where former secretary of state ken blackwell created a shortage of

voting machines in democratic areas to help deliver ohio for bush in 2004. then something interesting really happened. these dirty tricks stopped working. >> voter i.d., which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania, done. [ applause ] >> well, voter i.d. did not deliver pennsylvania or any other state for mitt romney. but the intention was to make it harder for democratic voters to cast a ballot. it fell short. but there was some real voter fraud going on last year. >> did you vote for romney or obama? >> wait, i thought you were registering voters a minute ago. >> i am. but -- >> and who are you registering? all voters? >> well, i'm actually trying to register people for a particular party. >> uh-huh. >> because we're out here in support of romney, actually. >> and who's paying you for this? >> oh, the -- let me see.

we're working for the county clerk's office. >> republicans were forced to break ties with a voter registration firm because the group was breaking the law. then there was the current ohio secretary of state, john huestead, who tried to change the rules for early voting in his state. that didn't work. in other states the changes to early voting rules caused massive voting problems. >> the lines for early voting are long, and for many time-consuming. you were in line how long? >> for an hour and 55 minutes, to be exact. >> reporter: at the alafaya library on east colonial the line was out the door and down the street. the neighborhood looked like a sea of cars. >> if i had waited until tuesday, i think that probably would have been more stress and the lines are definitely going to be longer. >> today the "orlando sentinel" newspaper reported more than 200,000 people in florida did not vote because of the long lines. those lines were engineered by republican governor rick scott, who made last-minute changes to early voting schedules.

republicans in florida jammed the ballot with initiative after initiative, creating a very long voting experience. these efforts all fell flat because the american people were wise to the republican tricks. it got a lot of media coverage. which is why the gop now wants to change the laws to reverse the will of the people. republicans realize this is now a center-left nation that is very progressive and on the move. the virginia bill is just the latest admission by the republican party. they need to rig elections because they can't win on the issues. and we must realize tonight, we cannot get politically exhausted. i know the election just ended. but here we go again. and the republicans are not asleep at the wheel. they are driving this ship big time. the bottom line is this is our democracy. it's not illegal. but it is dirty pool.

and it's a rotten way to run the country. and i believe it is connected to race. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, can republicans win fair elections? text a for yes. text b for no to 622639. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. let's talk more about virginia. joining me now is charnelle herring. she is the minority whip of the virginia house of delegates and the chair of the democratic party of virginia. and david corn with us tonight, msnbc analyst and d.c. bureau chief for "mother jones" magazine. great to have both of you with us here tonight. charnelle, is this bill going to become a reality in virginia? is this a slam dunk for the republicans? >> thank you, first of all, ed, for having me. and it can become a reality. but virginians are wise to the republican tricks. not only did we have the bill changing the electoral college, but we also had something sprung on the senate that changes the lines for the senate districts, displacing 3 million virginia

voters from their representatives. so voters are watching and they're aware of what the republicans are doing, but it is possible that these measures can pass. >> well, the republicans have the votes to get it done. so what's going to stop it in virginia? >> i think it's just got to be the will of the voters for people contacting their legislators and telling them that trickery is not the way that democracy is supposed to work. i find it interesting that senator carrico suggested that his constituents' votes are irrelevant. see, that's the difference between the other side of the aisle. democrats believe that every vote is relevant, every vote should be delivered. and to change electoral college, to change senate district lines under cover of night, although it's during the day, using tricks to do so without even a public discourse is unacceptable and virginians are going to fight back. and i can tell you my side of the aisle's going to fight for every senatorial district and we're going to fight against

this effort to change the electoral college. >> david corn, what do you make of this? reince priebus says he wants to make this a national model. >> well, ed, it's obviously this is a naked and raw power grab on the part of republicans, who see that they've lost five out of the last six presidential contests according to the popular vote. george bush made it in though losing the popular vote. and they're looking ahead demographically and say they play by the set of rules that we've all become accustomed to because of demographics and other factors that are likely not to win these national contests. now, the good news, there's a little good news in virginia, is that if i understand this right the senate is more or less divided 20-20 there, although the tie would be broken by the lieutenant governor in favor of the republicans -- >> if all the republicans vote for it, then they've got it. >> there's one republican state senator who's already said she won't vote for this. now, she can be pressured by reince priebus and others in the republican party to change her

mind. >> sure. >> so i think having a lot of pressure on her and a few other of the maybe -- if there are any moderate or any suburban republicans in the state senate to really be firm in this and make them pay a high price. because as you've said, this is not illegal. they tried to do this in pennsylvania. they're thinking about doing it in wisconsin, michigan, ohio, and florida. and people just have to really keep an eye on this and put as much pressure as they can to say this ain't fair. >> well, we're not talking about a lot of republicans. i mean, they can go in and cash-whip one or two republicans and can turn heads pretty fast. this is going to be a hard lift for the democrats to protect the electoral college no, doubt. charnelle, this is a quote from state senator carrico. "it comes down for me as a state legislator to a fairness issue. i'm making sure the people of my district are represented." that's his quote. how is his district not being represented? >> that puzzles me.

i don't know if he's talking about himself or maybe he just doesn't like that we elected president obama twice now here in virginia. his problem is he cannot accept that the demographics has changed. the republican message of not bringing everybody forward is not resounding with virginians. what they're having a problem with is that they can't realize that their policies are outdated. virginians are moving forward. we're more progressive, as you mentioned earlier, and you know what? people don't like their message of hatred and exclusion. so i'm not sure what he's talking about, but that's not the virginia way. what's happened in the senate is not the virginia way. >> you know, the way it works now in almost every state is the old law, rule of one person, one vote. everybody in virginia, everybody in hawaii, everybody in california, their vote counts equally when it comes to selecting a president. if you go to this new system they're proposing, people in certain districts will have a greater advantage. their vote will count more. >> but they're going to be able

to do this -- i don't mean to be doom and gloom here, david. but this is like going after unions. you cash-whip legislators to put up right to work legislation. you go after legislators to make sure that they're going to vote properly the right way. and all politics is now national as much as it is local because it's all about the money and citizens united. it all comes together. they've tried voter suppression. they've tried all kinds of stuff. now they're into the electoral college. you do the math we would have been swearing in the other guy. >> you're right, ed. i still think that in virginia it's not a slam dunk, it can pass. although it will be very, very close and you'll see close contests in these other races. so people have to get on their horses and ride into these battles. >> all right. charniele herring and david corn, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts with us on twitter @edshow and on facebook. we want to know what you think. coming up the three amigos, they're back. these senators spent their day

trying to advance their right-wing agendas but they failed in embarrassing ways. we'll walk you through it all when we come back in the filibuster. stay with us. look what mommy is having. mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle.

john boehner, speaker of the house, tells a republican group president obama is trying to annihilate the party? okay. but the gop is -- well, they say that they're going to do it by themselves. richard wolffe joins me to talk about the republicans' self-destruction. and later the pentagon lifts a ban on women in combat and the righties are all up in arms about that. goldie taylor will join me and we'll get her take. don't forget you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127. share your thoughts with us on facebook and twitter using the #edshow and we are coming right back. twins. i didn't see them coming.

i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

welcome back. they attempted to bully secretary of state clinton yesterday. they were back at it again today. senators mccain, johnson, and paul are ignoring the truth about the attack on benghazi so they can advance their right-wing agenda. secretary of state hillary clinton smacked down tea party senator ron johnson yesterday. johnson blundered again at senator john kerry's confirmation hearing today. >> you work with me then on an ongoing basis so we can get that behind us so we can find out what actually happened. >> senator, in all fairness, i think we do know what happened. i think that it is very clear. were you at the briefing with the tapes? >> no. >> well, there was a briefing

with tapes which we all saw, those of us who went to it, which made it crystal-clear. >> johnson wasn't at the briefing? come on! yet he's taking it to hillary clinton yesterday? give me a break. johnson is so upset about benghazi he decided to skip an important briefing on benghazi but all of a sudden he acts like an expert at a panel hearing? meanwhile, senator rand paul is still trying to explain his conspiracy theory about gun running in turkey. sean hannity, he's now a true believer. >> i don't have proof of this. no one's given me any information. i have no briefing to this. but there have been articles in the newsprint and in the press saying that there was some gun running going on. >> time out. hold it right there. did we hear rand paul yesterday at the hearing tell secretary of state hillary clinton i don't know, i don't have evidence of this, but no? he didn't paraphrase it that way. here's the so-called newsprint rand paul is citing. fox news.

while he's on fox news. hannity keeps repeating another lie as well. >> charleen lamb said they were watching it at the state department in real-time. >> really? well, there was no live video feed. since the truth doesn't work, senator john mccain chose a new scapegoat. >> she was, quote, feisty according to the mainstream media. she obviously has an adoring media. look, this thing has been -- it's been a cover-up. it -- i'm sorry to tell you that probably the adoring media will now say, well, that chapter is over. >> senator, don't hold it against us just because we like secretary of state hillary clinton a lot more than we like you. that's just the way it is. that was john mccain's, by the way, second appearance on fox within 12 hours. the republicans are right on track for 2016, folks. let's turn to howard fineman, nbc news political analyst and

editorial director of the huffington post media group. howard, i was struck by your comment yesterday on "hardball" where you said that the hearing was the last failed shot of the 2012 election and the first failed shot of the 2016 campaign. how are the republicans doing today? >> well, i think i said it was a desperate act, but failed shot will also do. ed, i really think the emotional energy among the republicans is about their frustration at the way they lost the presidential election and their sort of lashing out at major figures in the democratic party such as hillary clinton as they begin the 2016 cycle. rand paul, senator rand paul imagined himself as president and dreamed of how he would have fired hillary clinton. but as implausible as it may seem to our viewers tonight, rand paul wants to run for president and thinks he can get elected.

and he's going to run on the rejectionist line. he's going to run on the antagonism to all powerful, famous people on the inside line. now that he's -- even though he's a senator himself. so in terms of 2016 republican politics, that was rand paul making his debut for 2016. >> well, are there others that were a part of that panel that are grandstanding politically right now? >> well, sure. of course. although not necessarily for president. i think john mccain has been on ever since he -- ever since he lost the election in 2008, i think he's been on a permanent personal campaign to recapture the glory days. and by the way, when he talks about the adoring media, i have to confess that there was a time when i was part of the adoring media adoring john mccain. when he ran in 2000 as a truth-telling maverick. he was quite the character.

so he knows all about adoring media. and i don't think in the case of hillary clinton it was about adoring media yesterday. i think it was about the fact that the republicans overplayed their hand big-time. so -- >> so this hearing in no way has politically damaged hillary clinton whatsoever. i mean, she went into that hearing -- >> oh, no. >> -- with just a terrific rating with the american people versus the 12% society, the congress. >> i would think, ed, i would think if anything her standing with the american people is probably higher. look, there were legitimate questions to ask about what happened when to protect diplomats in libya and elsewhere. there are questions you can ask about who said what in the early accounts of who was responsible for the attack in benghazi. but if the republicans were serious about really looking at any of that, they would have done it in a calm, rational way. instead, what they did was just hurl charges and call people names and then after the fact

accuse hillary of crying on cue, which then senator johnson had to apologize for, lobbing attacks which there was no basis for, making accusations based on information that they would have known otherwise about had they gone to the briefings. i thought john kerry today just took whatever air was left in senator johnson's balloon and just distributed it all over the hearing room. >> it had to be hard for him to say no when he was asked that question. >> that was pretty funny. >> i mean, what an absolute credibility killer right there. i wonder if kerry knew what the answer was -- >> i think the answer's probably yes. absolutely. he's nothing if not well briefed. i can tell you. >> no doubt. howard fineman, great to have you with us tonight. thank you. >> thanks, ed. >> house speaker john boehner says president obama wants to shove the gop into the dustbin of history. richard wolffe joins me for that. you are looking live at the senate floor where they just voted for a watered down filibuster reform deal. harry reid caved to republicans

and liberals are not happy this night. larry cohen of the communication workers of america is outraged and he is here with reaction and my commentary. stay with us.

at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally.

welcome back to "the ed show." house speaker john boehner is whining about president obama getting the upper hand. >> and given what we heard yesterday about the president's vision for his second term, it's pretty clear to me that -- it should be clear to all of you

that he knows he can't do any of that as long as the house is controlled by republicans. and so we're expecting here over the next 22 months to be the focus of this administration as they attempt to annihilate the republican party. and let me just tell you, i do believe that is their goal. to just shove us into the dustbin of history. >> boehner was speaking before a republican think tank and may have been reacting to cbs news political director john dickerson, who said president obama should "go for the throat." republicans are now more paranoid than ever. speaker boehner is basically whining like a coach who's had the score run up on him. i mean, boehner has a little less swagger than he did two years ago when he took over the house with this wave of tea party republicans, but what a difference a couple of years

makes. president obama is not the only one who benefits from contrasting himself with the republican party. governors like chris christie and bobby jindal take occasional shots at their own party and look almost mainstream by comparison. for the record, white house press secretary jay carney said today that the president believes a strong two-party system is the foundation of our democracy. let's bring in msnbc political analyst richard wolffe and vice president and executive editor of msnbc.com. richard, great to have you on always. >> thanks, ed. >> no one, including president obama, has the power to shove the gop into the dustbin of history unless they of course do it themselves. your thoughts. >> yeah, look. for a start, john boehner may think that he needs to gin up some enthusiasm among depressed donors or foot soldiers because they're doing so badly when it comes to national elections. or he's genuinely this paranoid. he actually believes in some

kind of inferiority complex that he really has got nowhere to go. i don't know how he squares that with the fact that he is speaker of the house or the fact that they are actually doing all the damage to themselves because when you look at how the demographics of this country is going and how republicans perform with them, they're doing a fine job of annihilating themselves. >> they really are. republicans were the ones out to destroy president obama, of course, when he took office, and now the republicans need gerrymandering taking place to get through and run through to get to their seats. here's more from speaker boehner. >> we're going to have to make some big decisions about how we as a party take on this challenge. you know, where's the ground that we fight on? where's the ground that we retreat on? where are the smart fights? where are the dumb fights that we have to stay away from? >> you know, it's interesting he's saying that because four years ago, inauguration day, what was happening? they were having a meeting to say no to everything.

do they know where they're going this time around? >> well, no, they don't. and remember that they're lamenting the fact that the president's coming after them. but they don't seem to mind if it's them going after the president. i mean, never mind the double standard here. if you just take his prognosis as being a fact, they have to figure something out, why at this moment when they need to figure out what they stand for is he talking about these kind of tactical things? where do we fight, where do we not fight? how about you fight everywhere? how you try and come up with a national plan and some national appeal instead of trying to go house district by house district? because that way you end up with this rump of a national argument which confines you to the deep south. >> can governors christie and jindal rescue the gop from itself? >> i think there are and serious minds going here and they are trying to figure out, especially those who have to run a national election in 2016, of where the party should be going. i just think that they have not really come to terms with defeat

because they believe that 2010 is a salvation, was a salvation for them, that maybe there's a chance in going more extreme and just slicing it a little bit finer that they can find some kind of national path to victory. most cases parties need to do some more soul searching to find out what that middle ground is. look at what bill clinton did with the whole centrist plan. you may not agree with it, but it did take democrats out of the wilderness. >> richard wolffe, great to have you with us. thanks so much. >> you bet. >> there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. >> if we get re-elected and we don't change the filibuster rules in the senate, you might as well take a four-year vacation. because you won't get anything done. >> harry reid and mitch mcconnell reach a worthless filibuster deal. larry cohen of the communication workers of america has the mechanics of more gridlock. >> what i do believe is that when we speak to the whistleblowers we have to make a determination whether what they say is really a criminal case.

>> lenny brewer steps down from the justice department. i'll tell you what it says about wall street. and goldie taylor gives us a marine's view on the right-wing's disgraceful reaction to women in combat. [ dad ] find it? ya. alright, another one just like that. right in the old bucket. good toss! see that's much better! that was good. you had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. let's do it again -- watch me.

just like that one... [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. pass down something he will be grateful for. good arm. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ back to you.

that's the sound of car insurance companies these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart choice? like, esurance for example. they were born online and built to save people money from the beginning. it's what they've always done. not just something they cheap about. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call.

welcome back to "the ed show." liberals in this country should be outraged tonight. you are looking live at the senate floor, where they just adopted the new rules by a vote of 78-16. senate majority leader harry reid caved to republicans on meaningful filibuster reform. reid reached a watered-down deal with minority leader mitch mcconnell keeping the filibuster alive and ready to be abused by republicans again. now, i was going to tell you what's in the deal, but it really doesn't matter. because democrats still need 60 votes to break a filibuster and republicans can still filibuster

without speaking on the senate floor. so what are we here for? republican senator johnny isakson of georgia told tpm this afternoon, "the rules change doesn't really do a lot." well, how about that? harry reid knows that. and he tried to explain away his failure earlier today by telling the "washington post" wonkblog, "i'm not personally at this stage ready to get rid of the 60-vote fleshhold. with the history of the senate, we have to understand that the senate isn't and shouldn't be like the house." well, it's obvious that reid is more interested in protecting the senate tradition than moving the country forward. that's my read on it. he went on to say this -- "the only way we'll get rid of the filibuster is if it continues to be abused." hello. with over 380 filibusters in recent years it's shocking that reid would come back and trust

republicans not to abuse the filibuster. he knows better. what's going on here? >> back in may harry reid apologized to senators jeff mercury and tom udall for blocking their original filibuster reform bill in twtd. >> if there were ever a time where tom udall and jeff americaly were prophetic it's tonight. these two fine young senators said it was time to change the rules in the senate and we didn't. they were right. the rest of us were wrong. if there were anything that ever needed changing in this body, it's the filibuster rule. because it's been abused, abused, and abused. >> so we can get something done in this country. this is a massive failure for the leader of the democrats. and the democrats who are walking in lock-step with him, what's wrong with you guys? what's going on here?

what about all those people who fought voter suppression and waited in lines for hours to make sure that president obama would get elected and would go down the road of a progressive agenda? what about all the ground troops who went door to door? the get out the vote effort that worked really hard to re-elect this president. this was a romney vote. that's what this was tonight. they didn't do it to face the same obstruction from republicans. all those workers out there. that's not why they did it. harry reid is leth the minority party run the country. he's giving the republicans all the ammunition they need to block president obama's second-term agenda. and you know what? he's going to regret it. so what does this mean? this means that activist groups are the only ones that can save the country when it comes to legislation because the activist groups are going to have to go out and get in these districts

and in these states where senators are who are not doing the right thing and primary them. and let them know that they're not going to win the next election. do the unions of this country deserve what just happened tonight after as hard as they worked to get president obama and the democrats in the senate? give me a break. for more let's turn to larry cohen, president of the communication workers of america. larry, i'm stunned. your thoughts. your initial reaction to this vote tonight on the filibuster. >> initial reaction is one of incredible disappointment and anger, as you expressed it. but also as you just said, that 2 million of us, way beyond labor, the 2 million of us who have worked on this, have to keep working. we have to connect it to every issue of the day. what's going to happen now to social security and other budget issues? what's going to happen to immigration reform? they get away with this because

they don't connect the dots. they make this a separate issue that puts people to sleep, although you've been waking them up. and we have to continue that fight. we also have to hold up. merkel, udall, harkin and the others who signed on to senate resolution 4 and 25 more who are ready for change. so we don't give up. we have to keep standing up and fighting back. apparently, senator reid said if the senate is not functioning we will go back to this. well, let's see. it won't be more than a few days till we see how the senate functions for the majority on these critical issues of the day or, as you said, led by senator mcconnell as we were on fiscal cliff. >> mitch mcconnell's going to go into caucus next tuesday, and they're basically going to say how the heck did you pull that off? i mean, we filibustered these guys 380 times and they gave us the same damn rules? i mean, folks, climate change? forget it. immigration reform, you probably won't get that. taxation and more revenue to the

treasury? you're not going to be able to tax wall street now. minimum wage, that's out the door, raising that. workers' rights. and you know what this is all about in my opinion? this is about guns. harry reid knows that 51 votes would be available for the assault weapons ban but he knows damn well there won't be 60 and he doesn't want to hang this on the democratic party at all to all these rural senators. that's who he's protecting in this. but he is not standing up for the people at all. i just -- i don't know what kind of message can we send at this point? >> i think we send a message of total determination that as every issue is discussed and if mitch mcconnell has to sign off to put it on the floor, which is where we believe this lies, then on every issue we have to link this up and say you said if it wasn't functioning you would change it? 51 can change it. we're fighting to change it. and not let up for a minute. and the broader democracy initiative that we're a part of

has got to go on on all the issues. >> this is another comment that struck me today. tpm asked senator dick durbin today if the deal would make it easier to pass bills. durbin said "it requires goodwill and good faith." are you kidding me? you're telling me we're going to get a new mitch mcconnell and a whole new group of republicans that just can't wait to help barack obama move this country forward, especially on jobs? they have said no to everything. larry cohen, we'll have you back. this is a story that's going to go on. and the democrats are going to pay for this. i don't -- you know, i don't want to fight with the democrats. but my lord, what was this election all about? coming up, days after a pbs "frontline" special, someone in the justice department is stepping down. we will get to more on the filibuster in just a moment. we're right back on "the ed show." stay with us. [ male announcer ] edmunds.com says the all-new nissan altima is a better car than camry. to argue would be rude. nissan altima. with moving-object detection.

lease now. just $199 per month. visit choosenissan.com. road and track called sentra an economy car minus the look and feel of an economy car. wonder how civic and corolla look and feel about that. the all-new nissan sentra, with best-in-class mpg. lease for $169 per month. visit choosenissan.com. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. and we want to make sure that you know what the vote count was on the filibuster reform. the senate broke the vote up into two resolutions tonight.

the first was 78-16, as we reported just a few moments ago. the second was 86-9. that was the vote on the filibuster bills. we love hearing from our viewers. and on our facebook and our twitter page many of you share my disappointment in harry reid, who caved to the republicans on filibuster reform. on facebook emily reid says she is very disappointed in harry reid and the democrats, who sold the majority of the american people out. steven lindbergh writes, "with democrats like harry who needs republicans?" and hope ruble asks, "is reid a secret republican? who got to him? did the kochs back up a brinks truck in front of his house?" good question. you can go to our facebook page right now and join the conversation. and of course don't forget to like us on "the ed show" when you're there. appreciate that. still to come, female military

personnel get the recognition they deserve from the government. but they're getting trashed by right-wing talkers. former marine goldie taylor will stay and weigh in with us on that. [ man ] ring ring... progresso this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. looks like you're in a pickle. yeah.

can you get me out of it ? just so happens i know a chap... book any flight and hotel together and get access to our free personal concierge service. any need, any question, we're on call 24/7.

and we are back. earlier this week i spoke with martin smith, producer and correspondent for "frontline's" the untouchables, a documentary that explores why no high-level wall street executives have gone to jail in connection with the 2008 financial crisis. i have to say, watching the program i was totally stunned. there seems to be no shortage of whistleblowers offering evidence that lenders knowingly perpetrated and ignored fraud. but no one is being held accountable. well, just two days after the documentary "the untouchables" aired, lanny breuer is stepping down. though the justice department and breuer declined to comment, it looks like "frontline" struck a nerve. the justice department should

embrace this documentary and use the information found in it. breuer was soft on wall street and failed to enforce the law as i see it. but just because he failed doesn't mean it's too late. holder, you've got to get on this. tonight in our survey i asked you, can republicans win a fair election? 3% of you say yes. 97% of you say no. coming up, policy catches up with reality. the pentagon will lift the ban on women in combat, but some right-wingers, whoo, they're not happy about that at all. former marine goldie taylor joins us next.

officemax can help you drive supply costs down... and down. use your maxperks card and get a 10-ream case of officemax multiuse paper for just 4.99 after maxperks rewards. find thousands of big deals now...

at officemax.

female service members have faced the reality of combat, proven their willingness to fight, and yes, to die to defend their fellow americans. >> today policy caught up with reality. the pentagon announced that it will officially lift the ban on women in combat, even though women are already serving on the battlefield. just ask former combat helicopter pilot and double amputee congresswoman tammy duckworth. >> the reality on the ground in a 360 battlefield is that women have been serving in combat in afghanistan and in iraq. well, i didn't lose my legs in a bar fight. >> this o'move will allow women to move up in the ranks and hold jobs that often bring more pay. yet predictably, many right-wingers can't handle reality. retired lieutenant general jeffrey boykin of the family research council calls it a social experiment. heather mcdonald of the

"national review" worries men and women serving together will result in a proliferation of sex. eric bolling of fox news used the story to test drive a new conspiracy theory. >> why did they float this today? is it because yesterday hillary rodham clinton was on the hill getting grilled about something about dead americans and now they need to get that shiny object over here, women on the front lines, to turn the attention and the obliging media goes yep, there it is, there's our new story for all day tomorrow. >> meanwhile, right-wing troll tucker carlson shared his thoughts on twitter. feminists' latest victory. the right to get your limbs blown off in war. congratulations. carlson, who has never served in the military, also had a difficult time distinguishing combat from domestic assault. the administration boasts about sending women to the front lines on the same day democrats push the violence against women act. it must be tough for a guy who tweets for a living to understand the toll of war. so here are a few statistics.

women make up 15% of the force and have paid the ultimate price again and again. over 150 have died and over 800 have been wounded serving their country in iraq and afghanistan. despite those sacrifices, iraq war veteran ryan smith says he's still not comfortable with the idea. he writes in the "wall street journal" that women shouldn't fight because men might have to "poop in front of them." >> so if you had to go in the restroom, you had to pee in a bottle inches from the comrade next to you, if you had to go -- if you develop dysentery, you had to poo in a bag in an mre bag inches from your comrade's face. now, introducing women into that environment can be really traumtic and humiliating. and combat's already difficult enough. you don't need to add this other layer. >> congress wam tulsi gabbard of

hawaii, also an iraqi war vet, had news for mr. smith. >> well, ryan, i respect you and thank you for your service. i've been honored to serve with many women who've already operated under these circumstances. this is not something new. some of the things that you've described are things that i and friends of mine and people that i've served with have already experienced. >> joining us tonight, goldie taylor, msnbc contributor, managing editor of the goldie taylor project and former marine. goldie, thank you for your time tonight. your response to some of the rhetoric you just heard. >> i frankly just find it astounding. you know, women have been serving in our armed forces and in military operations around the world for decades. the fact is we're doing the job. we're helicopter pilots. we're marine corps, you know, military police officers. we're military intelligence officers. we just don't get formally recognized for it, and we certainly don't get paid for it. there's a differential pay for someone who is formally recognized as being a part of

infantry. that is a boost in pay and benefits that women don't have access to. certainly, if you serve on the front line you have greater access to leadership positions. that opportunity is cut off for women who, again, not formally recognized. i don't know how much recognition you need than to look at someone like tammy duckworth who comes home missing her legs or someone like a shoshana johnson, who was a p.o.w., or someone like a jessica lynch, who was shot in the heels of her feet. so i don't know how much more formal recognition you need that women are doing the job today. >> women have to volunteer for combat duty and face the same physical standards that men do. is that an issue or not an issue at all? >> you know, i went through boot camp back in 1987. my former husband attempted to go through boot camp that very same year. he did not graduate from boot camp and was returned home not a marine. i on the other hand did complete boot camp and did rise to the challenge.